Why should I sign this petition? For over 25 years, podencos have not been considered as sighthounds. The reason behind this was that the SCI (World Dog Organisation based in Switzerland) wanted to put the Canario Podenco and the Ibicenco Podenco, which at the time belonged to two different breed groups, back into one group. The hunting lobbies got involved (especially the Spanish hunting lobby, operating through the Spanish association of dog breeders) and because they feared that hunting with sighthounds might be banned at some point, they asked for those two breeds to be classified as “primitive dogs” and not “sighthounds.” And they won!

Unfortunately, only Ibicenco, Canario, and Portugese Podencos could be returned to the sighthound group as these are the only officially recognised breeds. Still, that means thousands of dogs! And the Canario Podencos represent the vast majority of dogs found on Spanish islands -and they are the ones who most need our help because they are so hard to reach. Many breeders within the SCI are also trying to push for this breed group change.

We would like to make it clear that our petition has two major aims: to restore podencos in their full glory as members of the sighthound family (supported by breed enthusiasts) and at the same time protect them from a too-often tragic fate (supported by animal activists and rescue groups). If we protect those three breeds now, the galgueros won’t be able to turn to Ibicenco or Canario podencos (who most resemble galgos and have the same instinct for rabbit-hunting) when hunting with sighthounds is eventually banned in Spain. We remind you that this particular type of hunting can only be done with certain dogs. Pointers could not do the job for instance: the dogs have to actually catch the game, so they have to be built for speed. That doesn’t mean we should forget about all the other hunting dogs! But we can only fight one breed at a time, with our limited means.

This change of breed group also means that it will become illegal to use podencos for hunting in France. Our goal is eventually to bring about a general ban on hunting with all types of dogs, but time is not ripe yet. However, things are changing, the day will come! Please sign this petition and share it massively. We have to make the most of this opportunity! We cannot say if or when we will be heard, but in the meantime, it will at least put the spotlight on Spanish podencos, who are so often not given a voice! Thank you all, and let 2017 be a Happy New Year to all podencos everywhere!